Do you think the tiger shooting organised by the villagers was
a serious affair ? Give reasons for your answer.
Answers
Answer :
This question is based on the short story 'Mrs. Packletide's Tiger' by Saki.
Yes. The tiger shooting organised by the villagers was definitely a serious affair. The villagers were very excited at the prospect earning a thousand rupees and did their best to help Mrs. Packeltide realize her ambition of killing a tiger without much risk or exertion.
The villagers chose an old and senile tiger for the hunt who was used to preying on domestic animals. Children were posted at the outskirts of the village to prevent the tiger from roaming away to fresh hunting grounds. Cheap goats were left around carelessly for the tiger to prey on. Mothers were forced to hush their singing to their babies.
Further, the villagers set up a hunting platform or machaan at a suitable place under a tree where Mrs Packletide could sit and wait for the tiger with her rifle and her paid companion, Miss Louisa Mebbin. They tethered a noisy goat as a bait for the old tiger.